Optical imaging systems are very sensitive to defocus and as such, perfect alignment of object and image location is crucial. Aberration correction of optical lenses used in imaging systems compensates for effects, such as spherical aberration, coma, chromatic effects, and field curvature but are unable to cope with defocus effects that usually are more severe than any other aberration.
US patent application 2003/0063384 of Dowski Jr., PCT patent application WO2006/018834 of Zalevsky and PCT patent application WO2006/097916 of Ben-Eliezer et al. illustrate optical imaging systems with extended depth-of-field. US patent application 2004/0114103 of Miller et al. describes a system and method for increasing the depth of focus of the human eye.
The quality of an image acquired by an imaging system is responsive to multiple factors, including the orientation of features of an object (positioned at an object space) that is imaged onto a light sensitive sensor.
There is a need to provide robust imaging systems and methods, and especially robust imaging systems and methods that are characterized by an extended depth-of-field and as such are not sensitive to the exact position of objects (or scenes) that have to be imaged.